3% Approval But Media Back Him

President Bush’s job approval rating, currently reported to be 33%, seriously hampers his ability to unite the American people behind his policies and present the world with the image of a strong U.S. President. Imagine how tenuous his administration’s hold on power would be if his approval rating was only 3%! That embarrassingly low figure would doom any world leader, and one nuclear armed nation in the world is currently led by a man plagued by a 3% approval rating: Israel.

Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, who expects to be roundly criticized in a scathing report by the Winograd Commission for failures in conducting the Lebanon War last summer, is, in boxing terms, on the ropes. The opponent delivering the heaviest blows is Former Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who has now launched a public effort to topple Olmert’s government and trigger new elections. Netanyahu, a regular guest on many American news networks, had spoken previously about his potential interest in a second opportunity as Prime Minister, but that interest became an official movement yesterday during a rally held at Likud party headquarters in Tel Aviv.

Olmert is not likely to survive this political challenge to his leadership, particularly in light of nearly universal Israeli dissatisfaction with the conduct of the Lebanon War last year. The Winograd Commission report will include testimony by Olmert, Defense Minister Peretz, and other Israeli Defense Forces staff members. The IDF was specifically outraged by Olmert’s last-minute decision to launch a ground offensive in Lebanon only 2 days before a cease fire, already agreed upon, was to take effect. IDF staff had reportedly requested to engage in the ground assault weeks earlier but Olmert declined and delayed until, as the IDF assessment suggests, there was a domestic political motive to appear strong while pulling troops back from Lebanon when the cease fire took effect.

Netanyahu is a popular figure, and in an impressive debater and policy expert, as is evident in his interviews on Fox News or other networks. Netanyahu’s popularity, conservative views on Israeli withdrawal from the West Bank and other territories, and Olmert’s apparent failure in the Lebanon War, all work in his favor and point to a high probability that new elections will be forced. Those elections would almost surely result in an encore performance by Netanyahu as Prime Minister

The most alarming aspect of Olmert’s seemingly inevitable demise is his reported effort to make deals with the most liberal leftists in Israel in a last ditch effort to save his sinking administration. Two paragraphs capture the troubling deals Olmert is negotiating. The first from WND:

According to political sources here, Olmert held meetings the past two weeks with leftist political officials, leading intellectuals, prominent leftist groups and leftist media figures. The sources said Olmert told the leftist leaders he is willing to reach a final status agreement with the Palestinians, including an Israeli withdrawal from the West Bank, which borders Jerusalem and is within rocket range of Tel Aviv.

The second paragraph comes from IsraelNationalNews:

Olmert's government has thus far proven stable, despite its decline in popularity. There is some apprehension among Olmert's opponents who maintain that a deal between Olmert and the media may be in the works, in which the media would prop him up in exchange for his adoption of a far left agenda.

That a nation’s media would “prop up” a leader favored by only 3% of voters, simply because he would adopt an agenda that media figures personally desire, is democracy’s worst nightmare. That such things happen, however, is all too real. Israeli’s liberal media may be making some urgent phone calls to CBS and the New York Times in coming weeks seeking advice on how to influence elections through false reporting.